Peter Brooke passed away last week at the age of 90 from congestive heart failure and pneumonia. His passing is not related to COVID.

Brooke received the moniker as the Johnny Appleseed of venture capital and private equity. Mr. Brooke built two of the largest venture capital firms in the world – TA Associates and Advent International.

He also helped fund several of the most successful companies in the world, including FedEx (NYSE: FDX) and Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB).

Peter Brooke: In Memoriam

Mr. Brooke started his career at First National Bank of Boston before moving to the investment business, first with Bessemer Securities before moving to Tucker, Anthony & R.L. Day.

At Tucker Anthony, he began investing in start-up businesses that eventually became the core of his first venture capital firm T.A. Associates, that was started in 1968. The firm survives to the day and has transformed from a venture capital investor to a growth-oriented private equity firm with $24 billion in assets.

Mr. Brooke had a vision that included investing on a global scale to take advantage of opportunities outside the United States.  To expand on his ideas, he eventually left T.A. Associates to start Advent in 1985 as the first global private equity and venture capital firms.  Advent International has invested over $48 billion in 350 companies in 41 countries around the world. The firm currently has $57 billion in assets under management.

When he was inducted into the Private Equity hall of fame in the mid-1990s, Mr. Brooke also commented that “Making money is not enough. Making a contribution to industrial growth, employment, and society is what will distinguish an industry and sustain it over a long period of time.”

Finally, in 2009 Mr. Brooke outlined his view of venture capital and private equity as an essential element of economic growth and development in his book A Vision for Venture Capital: Realizing the Promise of Global Venture Capital and Private Equity.